The Kuala Lumpur High Court has fixed Nov 5 to hear an application to strike out a lawsuit linked to the controversial RM1.25 billion Sarawak solar hybrid energy project.
Judge Ahmad Bache today also fixed that date to simultaneously also hear an application for summary judgment in the suit by business consultant Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah against former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin (above).
Under the law, summary judgment is a ruling on a whole legal action without it going for a full trial. Rayyan is seeking the summary judgment in his suit against Saidi.
On July 13, news portal The Edge Markets reported that Rayyan filed the lawsuit against Saidi over alleged non-payment of a service fee for purportedly helping Jepak Holdings secure the contract for the solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
The portal reported that Rayyan sought RM9 million, which was said to be the remainder of the RM10 million alleged service fee, an additional RM20 million in lost investment opportunities and business, general damages, interests, and cost.
It also reported that the defendant Saidi is seeking to strike out the whole legal action against him.
Rayyan and Saidi are prosecution witnesses who testified against Rosmah Mansor in her ongoing corruption trial linked to the project. Rosmah is the wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
During High Court proceedings today, judge Ahmad fixed Nov 5 to jointly hear plaintiff Rayyan’s application for summary judgment as well as defendant Saidi’s bid to strike out the main suit.
The judge set the hearing date following his dismissal earlier today of Saidi’s application to remove certain portions of affidavits linked to Rayyan’s suit.
In dismissing the application, Ahmad said that it would be better for the main issue raised in the bid to instead be raised by both parties during the hearing of the other two applications on Nov 5.
The issue in question is in relation to a purported letter which is central to the main suit.
“(After) Reading in totality and considered the (pending Nov 5 hearing) striking-out and summary judgment applications, the defendant’s application here (to remove parts of the plaintiff’s affidavit) should not be allowed,” Ahmad said.
“The merits (of the issue of the letter among others) will be ventilated in the two future applications (Nov 5 hearing for both striking-out and summary judgment bids),” the judge said.
When met after open-court proceedings today by the media, Rayyan’s counsel Ravee G Uthirapathy said that both the striking-out application and the summary judgment bid will be heard together on Nov 5.
“It will be heard together as the issue is the same,” Ravee said in reference to the issue of the alleged letter.
Meanwhile, Saidi’s counsel Krishna Kumar confirmed that the court set Nov 5 to hear both the striking-out and summary judgment applications together.
“If the court wishes to hear witnesses (full hearing of the main suit), the court can (following the hearing on Nov 5) dismiss both applications (striking-out and summary judgment) and go for full trial (of the main suit),” Krishna said.
When asked about the main ground for defendant Saidi’s striking-out bid, Krishna said they are contending that plaintiff Saidi should have sued company Jepak Holdings rather than Saidi as an individual.
The lawyer claimed that this is because it was the company that obtained the solar hybrid project contract from the government and not an individual, among others. - Mkini
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